Indigenous Peoples And Climate Justice

​This book provides a new interpretation of international law specifically dedicated to Indigenous peoples in the context of a climate justice approach. The book presents a critical analysis of past and current developments at the intersection of human rights and international environmental law and governance. The book suggests new ways forward and demonstrates the need for a paradigmatic shift that would enhance the meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples as fundamental actors in the conservation of biodiversity and in the fight against climate change. The book offers guidance on a number of critical intersecting and interdependent issues at the forefront of climate change law and policy – inside and outside of the UN climate change regime. The author suggests that the adoption of a critical perspective on international law is needed in order to highlight inherent structural and systemic issues of the international law regime which are all issues that ultimately impede the pursue of climate justice for Indigenous peoples.

'Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples offers the most comprehensive resource for advancing our understanding of one of the least coherently developed of climate change policy realms – legal protection of vulnerable indigenous populations. The first part of the book provides a tremendously useful background on the cultural, policy, and legal context of indigenous peoples, with special emphasis on developing general principles for climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions. The remainder of the volume then carefully and thoroughly works through how those general principles play out for different regional indigenous populations around the globe. All of the contributions to the volume are by leading experts who bring their insights and innovative thinking to bear on a truly complex subject. Whether as a novice's starting point or expert's desktop reference, I cannot think of a more useful resource for anyone interested in climate policy for indigenous peoples.' – J.B. Ruhl, Vanderbilt University Law School, US 'In Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples, editors Randy Abate and Elizabeth Kronk have assembled a truly comprehensive and informative look at the special issues that indigenous peoples face as a result of climate impacts and an overview of the law – international and domestic, climate change and human rights, substantive and procedural – that applies to those issues. One of the great strengths of the book is that no group of indigenous people is made to stand proxy for all the others; instead, after exploring the general issues facing all indigenous peoples and the general legal strategies they use, the book focuses most of its attention on the specific climate change issues that confront particular groups – South American indigenous peoples; the various tribes of Native Americans in the US; the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, collectively as well as in respect to particular Arctic countries; Pacific Islanders; indigenous peoples in Asia; the various groups of Aborigines and Torres Islanders in Australia; the Maori on New Zealand; and several tribes in Kenya, Africa. For people interested in climate change and climate change adaptation, this book provides a unique overview of the special vulnerabilities and plights of indigenous peoples, issues that must be considered as the world works to formulate effective and protective climate change adaptation policies. For people interested in indigenous peoples and international human rights, this book paints a grim picture of the various ways in which climate change threatens this very diverse group of cultural entities and the deep knowledge of place that they usually possess, while at the same time offering hope that the law can find ways to keep them from disappearing – and, indeed, that indigenous peoples might just help the rest of us to survive, as well.' – Robin Kundis Craig, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, US 'It is one of the world's cruelest ironies that some of the earliest effects of climate change are being felt by indigenous populations around the world, even though they contributed no more than trivial amounts of the greenhouse gases that are at the root of much of the problem, and they are so politically and economically powerless that they played no role in the decisions that have led to their plight. At the same time, many of these populations are victimized by certain actions designed to reduce emissions, such as land clearing for biofuels cultivation, and restrictions on forest use. Professors Abate and Kronk have assembled a formidable collection of experts from around the world who demonstrate the diversity of challenges facing these indigenous peoples, and the opportunities and challenges in using various international and domestic legal tools to seek redress. This book will be an invaluable resource for all those examining the legal remedies that may be available, either now or as the law develops in the years to come.' – Michael B. Gerrard, Columbia Law School, US This timely volume explores the ways in which indigenous peoples across the world are challenged by climate change impacts, and discusses the legal resources available to confront those challenges. Indigenous peoples occupy a unique niche within the climate justice movement, as many indigenous communities live subsistence lifestyles that are severely disrupted by the effects of climate change. Additionally, in many parts of the world, domestic law is applied differently to indigenous peoples than it is to their non-indigenous peers, further complicating the quest for legal remedies. The contributors to this book bring a range of expert legal perspectives to this complex discussion, offering both a comprehensive explanation of climate change-related problems faced by indigenous communities and a breakdown of various real world attempts to devise workable legal solutions. Regions covered include North and South America (Brazil, Canada, the US and the Arctic), the Pacific Islands (Fiji, Tuvalu and the Federated States of Micronesia), Australia and New Zealand, Asia (China and Nepal) and Africa (Kenya). This comprehensive volume will appeal to professors and students of environmental law, indigenous law and international law, as well as practitioners and policymakers with an interest in indigenous legal issues and environmental justice.

"With connections to traditional homelands being at the heart of Native identity, environmental justice is of heightened importance to Indigenous communities. Not only do irresponsible and exploitative environmental policies harm the physical and financial health of Indigenous communities, they also cause spiritual harm by destroying the land and wildlife that are held in a place of exceptional reverence for Indigenous peoples. Combining elements of legal issues, human rights issues, and sovereignty issues, Indigenous Environmental Justice creates a clear example of community resilience in the face of corporate greed"--

How can social movements help bring about large-scale systems change? This is the question Jen Gobby sets out to answer in More Powerful Together. As an activist, Gobby has been actively involved with climate justice, anti-pipeline, and Indigenous land defense movements in Canada for many years. As a researcher, she has sat down with folks from these movements and asked them to reflect on their experiences with movement building. Bringing their incredibly poignant insights into dialogue with scholarly and activist literature on transformation, Gobby weaves together a powerful story about how change happens. In reflecting on what’s working and what’s not working in these movements, taking inventory of the obstacles hindering efforts, and imagining the strategies for building a powerful movement of movements, a common theme emerges: relationships are crucial to building movements strong enough to transform systems. Indigenous scholarship, ecological principles, and activist reflections all converge on the insight that the means and ends of radical transformation is in forging relationships of equality and reciprocity with each other and with the land. It is through this, Gobby argues, that we become more powerful together. 100% of the royalties made from the sales of this book are being donated to Indigenous Climate Action www.indigenousclimateaction.com

More than 300 million people in over 70 countries make up the worlds indigenous populations. Yet despite ever-growing pressures on their lands, environment and way of life through outside factors such as climate change and globalization, their rights in these and other respects are still not fully recognized in international law. In this incisive book, Laura Westra deftly reveals the lethal effects that damage to ecological integrity can have on communities. Using examples in national and international case law, she demonstrates how their lack of sufficient legal rights leaves indigenous peoples defenceless, time and again, in the face of governments and businesses who have little effective incentive to consult with them (let alone gain their consent) in going ahead with relocations, mining plans and more. The historical background and current legal instruments are discussed and, through examples from the Americas, Africa, Oceania and the special case of the Arctic, a picture emerges of how things must change if indigenous communities are to survive. It is a warning to us all from the example of those who live most closely in tune with nature and are the first to feel the impact when environmental damage goes unchecked.

"A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study of activism and media based on original research. This is a timely and insightful contribution to theorizing global justice as involving solidarity and voice beyond existing political structures."-Kate Nash, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London, and Faculty Fellow, Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University

More than 300 million people in over 70 countries make up the worlds indigenous populations. Yet despite ever-growing pressures on their lands, environment and way of life through outside factors such as climate change and globalization, their rights in these and other respects are still not fully recognized in international law.In this incisive book, Laura Westra deftly reveals the lethal effects that damage to ecological integrity can have on communities. Using examples in national and international case law, she demonstrates how their lack of sufficient legal rights leaves indigenous peoples defenceless, time and again, in the face of governments and businesses who have little effective incentive to consult with them (let alone gain their consent) in going ahead with relocations, mining plans and more. The historical background and current legal instruments are discussed and, through examples from the Americas, Africa, Oceania and the special case of the Arctic, a picture emerges of how things must change if indigenous communities are to survive. It is a warning to us all from the example of those who live most closely in tune with nature and are the first to feel the impact when environmental damage goes unchecked.

With a long history and deep connection to the Earth’s resources, indigenous peoples have an intimate understanding and ability to observe the impacts linked to climate change. Traditional ecological knowledge and tribal experience play a key role in developing future scientific solutions for adaptation to the impacts. The book explores climate-related issues for indigenous communities in the United States, including loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems, food security and traditional foods, as well as water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and relocation. The book also highlights how tribal communities and programs are responding to the changing environments. Fifty authors from tribal communities, academia, government agencies and NGOs contributed to the book. Previously published in Climatic Change, Volume 120, Issue 3, 2013.